


Where It Doesn't Hurt

by KaenOkami



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, During Volume 7, F/F, Ficlet, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, They Only Asked For A Kiss How Did It End Up Like This, Tumblr Ask Box Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23586508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaenOkami/pseuds/KaenOkami
Summary: In a moment alone with Penny, Ruby lets slip some of her deeper feelings about the Fall of Beacon and her friend's return.
Relationships: Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 4
Kudos: 86





	Where It Doesn't Hurt

The bunks in the Atlas dorms weren’t as big or as nice as the beds at Beacon — they certainly didn’t fit two as comfortably — but they would do for now. Besides, Ruby would never say no to anything that put her closer up to someone she loved.

Blake and Yang were still taking care of that situation in the sewers, and Weiss was fitting in some extra training with her sister. So, their missions for the day completed, that left the late evening free and the dorm room empty for her and Penny. The cuddling was definitely a perk, as much as one could cuddle with a metal body, even one built as lightweight and mobile as Penny’s. However, the part of this that Ruby was really reveling in was the chance to talk without anything getting in the way. 

Even in the most casual of conversations she could lose track of time or of how much she’d been saying, which in the past…sometimes hadn’t been received well. But Penny had meant what she said about wanting to hear everything about their adventures since she’d last seen them, and she drank in every word, every so often eagerly asking for clarifications and more detail. It was relaxation and joy like Ruby hadn’t experienced in a long time, and she barely noticed the window turning darker and darker as she went on, until finally she reached the present.

“I…I’m not really sure how to say how happy I was when I saw you again. When I _realized_ it was you, and you were alive and okay and…” Ruby gave a short, nervous laugh, before blurting out, “Gods, I think I could have kissed you!”

She felt a stab of embarrassment the second the words were out of her mouth, but while Penny did look surprised for a moment, she quickly shifted over to delight. “Really? I think that would have been nice.”

Ruby blinked. “…You do?”

“Of course! I _do_ know what a kiss is,” Penny laughed. “It’s a gesture you save for someone you love. Someone special. And you’re the most special person I know, Ruby.”

Ruby had to process that for a moment, because she was pretty sure that the sweet feeling it brought was not supposed to be mixed with a trace of shame. 

“…Ruby? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all, it’s just…” Ruby pressed her face into the pillow. She should have known better than to think she could avoid these thoughts. “It’s just…I thought you were dead.”

Penny tilted her head, puzzled. “But now you know I’m okay. I’ve been back online for months.”

“I know, but…” She’d had days to consider it, but she still wasn’t sure how exactly to put her feelings into words. She wasn’t even sure if this was the right place to start. “At Beacon, I…I ran into Mercury Black in the tunnels under the arena, before your match with Pyrrha. He taunted me about what was going to happen, and I…”

“Ruby…it wasn’t your fault. There isn’t anything you could have done to stop it.”

“But I tried to! I just…I couldn’t fight him off, I couldn’t get past him in time, and the second I got out there I saw you…” 

It had taken weeks after she’d woken up from her explosion on the tower before she stopped seeing the Fall of Beacon every time she closed her eyes, in what few disjointed sounds and images she remembered with any kind of clarity. The ones she saw most often were Pyrrha’s eyes and mouth flying open as the arrow slammed through her, and the sparking metal chunks of Penny crashing to the floor. 

She reached out to wrap her arms around Penny’s body, whole and intact and stronger than ever, and still felt a twist in her stomach. “I wasn’t fast enough to save you, Penny. I’m sorry.”

It was what she’d wanted to say for close to a year, and now it had been said. The beat of silence that followed it didn’t make it feel any better. 

“It’s…it’s okay, Ruby. You were trying to. You did what you could. That means everything to me.”

What Ruby felt at that wasn’t quite comfort, but it was close enough. “I thought of you every day. You and Pyrrha and everyone else…”

At that, Penny looked more downcast than Ruby had ever seen her. “After I woke up, I saw what happened after my body was destroyed. The general showed me the footage, he said it was important. And Pyrrha Nikos…I couldn’t get her out of my head either. Especially after I heard what happened…I wish she was here too.”

“So do I. I think you would have liked her.”

“I wish I could tell her that I’m okay, too, and that she didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t even hurt me.”

Ruby started to nod, and then stopped, lifting her head in surprise. “Didn’t hurt? What do you mean?”

“Well, just that,” Penny said with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I get alerts that my body’s been damaged someplace, which is basically what an organic nervous system does. But I don’t really feel physical pain the way that you do. I’m told it’s a great advantage.”

“So when those wires hit you…”

“It was…just a bit of a shock, that’s all. I barely had time to realize what was happening before it was over. And then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in my father’s workshop, good as new — better, even! It took months to rebuild me, so he was worried sick about me, but he seemed to feel better when I told him I hadn’t even felt what happened.” Penny was looking at her with concern. “Does it help you at all to hear it?”

Ruby only took a moment to consider the question. It was just a small bit, but…

“Yeah,” she decided. If someone she loved had been spared pain, then that had to be comforting. “Yeah, it does. Thank you, Penny.”

On impulse, Ruby leaned in and gave Penny a kiss on the cheek. The thin layer of artificial skin there was softer than she’d expected.

“I definitely felt _that,”_ Penny said, giving her a genuinely heartened smile, and Ruby couldn’t help but return it.

“Oh, yeah? How’d it feel?”

In answer, Penny pressed her lips to Ruby’s: lightly, gentler than anything. _"Very_ good.”


End file.
